The long list of 30 New Mavericks

Clive Beddoe: Launching an upstart low-cost airline from Calgary was seen as both brash and naive in 1996, but in two stints as CEO, Beddoe took the company from idea to national player while keeping its down-home Calgary attitude intact.

Rahul and Ravi Sood: Rahul Sood started building computers as a teenager, and by 1991 his Voodoo Computers was a top maker of high-end PCs. His brother soon came on board, and the company joined forces with tech giant Hewlett-Packard in 2006, building machines that are as much artful status symbols as computers.

The Southerns: Ron and Marg Southern built a business empire and Spruce Meadows equestrian facility. What qualifies the family as New Mavericks is their daughters Nancy, now president and CEO of ATCO, and Linda Southern-Heathcott, president and CEO of Spruce Meadows. The family continues to push the company in new directions and give Calgary a unique marker for the world.

Jarome Iginla: The community profile of this Alberta-born Calgary Flames captain has transcended his sport. He has maintained a good-natured persona in an era when millionaire athletes regularly fall from grace, and he continually gives back to the community.

Jim Shaw: While J.R. Shaw started the communications firm that bears his name, Jim carried it on and expanded it into a national player. The company has changed the telecom landscape in the country, and this year’s purchase of the TV assets of Canwest Global made it a broadcasting powerhouse.

David O’Brien: This lawyer has became one of Canada’s leading corporate architects, with a knack for making big, bold decisions. As CEO of CP, O’Brien engineered the lucrative breakup and sale of its non-railway assets. Later, he helped build Encana as the biggest independent natural gas producer on the continent.

Mogens Smed: The colourful Calgary entrepreneur made his mark manufacturing high-end office. After selling his firm in 2002, he again defied conventional wisdom by starting DIRTT Environmental Solutions which designs and build sustainable modular workspaces.

Nancy Knowlton: Not many entrepreneurs can claim both the White House and thousands of schools as clients. Nancy Knowlton, CEO of Smart Technologies, can. She steered her company into a world leader in interactive whiteboards, which are used in boardrooms and classrooms around the world.

Hayley Wickenheiser: Four-time Olympic medallist in women’s hockey has broken barriers almost continually through her career. She became the first woman to play full-time men’s professional hockey when she joined a European league in 2003. Our Mavericks panellists also like her recent announcement of returning to the University of Calgary to play — it’s not often a star athlete makes education a priority.

Joe Carbury: What makes the longtime voice of the Calgary Stampede’s Rangeland Derby a New Maverick? Credit his sheer influence on the community. His unmistakable voice defined the Calgary Stampede’s signature event. Our panel couldn’t imagine Calgary without Carbury.

Alison Karim-McSwiney: Sometimes New Mavericks can be found in unlikely places — in Alison Karim-McSwiney’s case, it’s on 17th Avenue S.E. As the longtime executive director of International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone, Karim-McSwiney’s tireless work helped turn an often overlooked strip into a hub of multiculturalism in Calgary.

Jackie Flanagan: Few Calgarians have been as generous and committed to their ideals as Flanagan. She created AlbertaViews magazine to offer opposing viewpoints in a province known for a homogeneous political culture. And she has been a committed philanthropist, giving millions to worthy causes and the arts.

Bishop Fred Henry: The head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary remains outspoken on controversial issues, and defied pressure by demanding Catholic schools give up millions of dollars in fundraising over the church’s moral opposition to gambling. Love him or hate him, our panellists agree that Henry follows his own path.

George Brookman: How can a former chairman of the Calgary Stampede be a considered a maverick? By making cowboys wear pink, for one thing. Brookman, a successful Calgary businessman, caught the eye of Calgary when he implemented a breast cancer fundraiser at the 2007 Calgary Stampede that encouraged “real men” to wear pink. It turned a macho institution into a sea of femininity, and gave the Stampede a charitable identity.

Andrew Raeburn: Calgary’s transition to cultural hub is due in large part to Andrew Raeburn, a classical music producer who was the driving force behind the Honens International Piano Competition from 1993 to 2004. During that time, Raeburn helped turn the event into one of the most prestigious in the world.

Mark Tewksbury: Calgary has produced plenty of Olympic champions, but few have broken as many barriers as Tewskbury. After winning a swimming gold in 1992, he revealed his homosexuality, and has since grown into an influential and outspoken supporter of gay rights and sport. He was recently named the chef de mission of the 2012 Canadian Summer Olympic team.

Jean Grand-Maitre: As artistic director, Jean Grand-Maitre has turned Alberta Ballet into a global star. Thanks to his pioneering work with pop musicians Joni Mitchell, Elton John and, upcoming, Sarah McLachlan, Grand-Maitre brought a spotlight to the organization that once seemed inconceivable, all while ignore the naysayers and cynics.

Paul Hardy: Fashion is a tough industry, so most budding designers do themselves a favour by moving to one of the world’s fashion capitals. That’s what makes Paul Hardy’s success even more remarkable – he is doing it from Calgary. Hardy is a charitable, globe-trotting, and groundbreaking figure in Canadian fashion.

One Yellow Rabbit: Radical, contemporary, always pushing the boundaries of art, the One Yellow Rabbit ensemble has written and produced some of the most memorable theatrical works ever to hit the stage in Calgary. They’ve gained international renown by continually pushing themselves, and by building the beloved High Performance Rodeo performing arts festival each year.

Ian Tyson: Everybody knows musician Ian Tyson is a living legend, so how can he be considered a New Maverick? Our panel credits it to the likes of Corb Lund, Paul Brandt and George Canyon. Tyson paved the way for a new crop of country music stars who have forged careers by being almost defiantly Albertan in their music and the way they do business.

Mary Hetherington: If the place of women in the field of law is a given today, part of the thanks ought to go to Marty Hetherington. She was a pioneering female lawyer in the 1960s, and went on to become the first woman appointed to the Appeal Court of Alberta. Her decisions had a major impact on law in Alberta, and has been repeatedly praised for her intelligence and tenacity.

Will Ferguson: If it’s true that Canadian literature is too focused on a “garrison mentality”— building walls against the outside — then few successful Canadian authors have defied it better than Calgarian Will Ferguson. Self-deprecating, funny and satirical, Ferguson has become a beloved part of Canadian culture by poking fun at Canadiana.

Joane Cardinal-Schubert: More than an artist, Joane Cardinal-Schubert was an outspoken advocate for aboriginal artists at a time when few were shown or collected. She made an impact both through her art — which often touched on social critiques — and through her tireless advocacy.

Ralph Klein: A true populist, the former TV anchor stormed city hall and later the premier’s office with an Everyman attitude and shoot-from-the-hip style that enraged many, but endeared him to many more. Rarely has a politician rode a wave of populism as long and successfully as Klein.

Sheldon Chumir: Although he died in 1992, our panel felt the legacy of the lawyer, university lecturer, businessman, and former Liberal MLA is still making maverick waves in Calgary. Chumir’s commitment to his ideals is still alive in the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership, and in a generation of advocates who embody his ideas.

Sharon Pollock: The acclaimed playwright has fearlessly tackled difficult questions on stage for the last 40 years, and our panel thought Pollock’s influence qualifies her as a New Maverick. Her impact can be seen whenever the city’s big companies tackle socially conscious performances, and in the provocative work of young theatre companies like Downstage Theatre.

W. Brett Wilson: Wilson made his fortune by building investment dealer FirstEnergy, but a cancer diagnosed changed his focus. He became the city’s most high-profile philanthropist by delivering a glitzy, Hollywood style. Behind all the glitz, he has supported a dizzying number worthy causes.

Gwyn Morgan: When Morgan orchestrated the merger that created Encana, it was called the biggest transaction in industry’s history. Morgan continued to defy conventional wisdom by making natural gas plays in northeastern B.C. before almost everybody else. Turns out he was right; the region has huge potential, and Morgan’s place in Canada’s corporate history is secure.

John Reilly: As the judge for the Cochrane-Canmore-Banff circuit in the 1990s, judge John Reilly ordered an investigation into the conditions on the nearby Stoney reserve, and touched off a firestorm of criticism. Even his superiors tried to have him removed from his post. Reilly refused to back down, and became a hero to many.

Keith Purdy: A well-known Calgary activist, Purdy has been on the front lines of the gay rights battle in Alberta for the last 20 years. His work prompted the provincial government to extend spousal benefits to same-sex couples and back down on a threat to use the notwithstanding clause to stop gay marriage.

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